Analyzing Historical Documents
This worksheet helps 12th-grade students practice document analysis skills by examining primary and secondary sources.
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Analyzing Historical Documents
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Read each document carefully and answer the questions that follow. Pay close attention to the source, context, and purpose of each document.
Mr. President: No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The question before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. And were I not to express my sentiments freely, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.
1. What is the speaker's main argument in this excerpt?
2. What is the historical context of this speech?
3. Which rhetorical device is most evident in Patrick Henry's statement: 'I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery'?
Metaphor
Hyperbole
Antithesis
Allusion
THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.
4. What is Paine's primary purpose in writing this passage?
5. Identify and explain one example of figurative language used by Paine in this excerpt.
6. Both Patrick Henry and Thomas Paine explicitly advocate for reconciliation with Great Britain.
True
False
Match the literary device to its definition.
7. Allusion
a. An indirect reference to a person, place, or event
8. Parallelism
b. The repetition of a grammatical structure
9. Rhetorical Question
c. A question asked for effect, not requiring an answer
10. A primary source is a document or physical object which was written or created during the time under study. Examples include letters, diaries, and .
11. A secondary source interprets and analyzes primary sources. Examples include textbooks and .
12. Briefly explain the difference between analyzing a document for its literal meaning versus its inferred meaning.